Road to Exile
by StrawberryCakeJuice
Summary: A disillusioned Naruto is placed into a team with the redemption-seeking heir of the "Fallen" Uchiha Clan and a civilian girl, whom wants to prove that she is just as good as any child from a clan. The fates of the members of Team 7 and the Elemental Countries are irrevocably changed. [Epic Length]


**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, because let's be honest. If I owned Naruto, I wouldn't bother making fanfiction when I could just make spin-offs.

**Summary:** Uzumaki Naruto, disillusioned with Konohagakure after years of alienation from the village that he once wished to protect. Is placed into a team with the redemption-seeking heir of the "Fallen" Uchiha Clan and a civilian girl, whom wants to prove that she is just as good as any child from a clan. The fates of the members of Team 7 and the Elemental Countries are irrevocably changed.

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><p>Road to Exile<p>

Prologue: Hard Decisions

"My decision is final in this matter and I will hear nothing else of it!" Sarutobi Hiruzen thundered as he walked briskly into his office with his old teammates dogging his steps.

The usually kind old man was anything but as he strolled over to his desk, ignoring the protests that were coming from behind.

Behind him were Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, his advisors in the matters of the village.

Well at least that had been their jobs until an hour ago. That was until Hiruzen had waltzed into the council chambers, and effectively ended the democracy that had been their village's political system since its founding by the Shodaime Hokage.

"No! We have the right to know why you've done this Hiruzen, we could understand you shutting down the Civilian council, but to do the same with us and the shinobi clans…you have no right –" Koharu began, but fell silent at the cold glare that the Hokage sent over his shoulder. Her words seemed to fail her as Hiruzen turned around to face them.

His face was grim and his lips that were usually curled up into a smile curled down into the most impressive scowl. "It is only due to our friendship that I haven't had you two hauled off by the ANBU and taken to the T & I department under Ibiki's care! To think that you believe that you have the right to say what you wish to me after what you've done!"

Slamming his hands down on the side of his desk, the Shinobi no Kami took pleasure in watching the two flinched in response to the show of force at the corner of his eye. It had been such a long time since he possessed the ability to shut them up, and it was only now after all that had happened that he realized how complacent he has become.

It took a once revered clan of their village to rise up in rebellion, for him to realize just how far the village he loved has fallen.

Taking his place in the chair, he rested his arms on the rests and looked at them from beneath the rim of his hat. He slipped his hand into the pocket of his inner robe and brought the bowl of the pipe towards his mouth. Without a single hand seal, he spit a bit of fire into the bowl before turning it around and slipping the mouthpiece past his lips. Inhaling deeply, he closed his eyes and hummed at the blissful feel of the addictive tobacco filling his lungs.

Exhaling, a trail of hazy smoke drifted lazily into the air before dissipating. Opening his eyes, he looked at the two who stood in front of him, and couldn't help but question just how things had come to this.

"Hiruzen, you can't just change our entire village system in a day! That is not how things work here! It is not how _Sensei_ would've wanted things to –" Koharu's words died once again, as Hiruzen's eyes narrowed and his killing intent spiked enough to unsettle her.

"Don't think you have the right to tell me what Sensei would've wanted, Koharu…you and I both know that if he had his way then this would've been done a long time ago!" clenching the end of his pipe, he pulled the mouthpiece away from his lips and scowled.

"It is only now that I realize why he had wanted to, and I have to say that I find myself disappointed in the fact that it has come to this…for no reason at all should I have distrust towards those who I appoint as my advisors...those who help me run this village." His teammates looked as if they were ready to protest once more as if to deny his words or prevent what they knew was coming, and he had enough.

Slamming his hand down on his desk, a boom resounded in the room as the wood broke into two and shot off to opposite sides of the room. As expected ANBU immediately materialized into the room as the dust cleared, but unfortunately they too fell to the ground by the Hokage's killing intent.

"_FOR YEARS I HAVE SAT HERE AND ALLOWED THE VILLAGE TO BECOME A SHELL OF WHAT IT WAS! FOR YEARS I HAVE ALLOWED OTHERS TO PREVENT ME FROM DOING WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE! FOR YEARS I HAVE ALLOWED OTHERS TO CULL MY POWER UNTIL I WAS LITTLE MORE THAN A FIGUREHEAD! AND NOW DUE TO THIS COMPLACENCY AND YOUR DECISION TO GO BEHIND MY BACK, WE HAVE NOT ONLY LOST A LARGE CHUNK OF OUR SHINOBI BUT ALSO THE POWER OF A CLAN THAT HAD BEEN NOTHING BUT FAITHFUL UNTIL YOUR PREJUDICE PUSHED THEM INTO A CORNER!"_

Hiruzen stood there in the middle of the room, glaring down at his teammates, who were going almost catatonic due to the sheer pressure of his chakra. Grunting, the old man released the hold he had on all of them as he fell back into the chair. Sighing, he reached up and pulled the hat signifying his place as Hokage from his head.

Rubbing the back of his neck, he watched dispassionately as everyone slowly but surely began to right themselves. The ANBU stationed themselves behind his struggling former advisors, while his teammates tried to push themselves up from the ground with trembling arms.

"Out of everyone, I thought you two would not have allowed yourselves to become involved in Danzō's schemes and acted so, but it seems that you both were too blind to see what your actions would do to this village just so you could act on your own prejudices against the Uchiha…ANBU take these two from my sight." The masked figures bowed towards him before turning to the two elders, and escorted them out of the room as he walked over towards the window facing the village.

Clouds of smoke rose up in the distance where fires had burned during the battle, and he even now he could hear the cries of the people. Their cries for help, children for their parents, parents for their children, wives for their husbands, and husbands for their wives. He could feel the chakra signatures of his shinobi trying to stem the chaotic air that seemed to have taken residence in their once peaceful village. All the while, he could do nothing until everything settled down before addressing the people.

Crushing the pipe in his hand, he ignored the pieces cutting into his fingers and the drops of blood that fell and stained the white fabric of his Hokage robes. This pain meant nothing to him at that moment, after all it paled in comparison to the pain his village was feeling.

Tonight the peace of the village ended with the impromptu coup d'état attempted by the Uchiha Clan, which resulted in the death of a large chunk of their shinobi forces though most slain were Genin. All of the other villages will surely smell the blood in the water, and some of the more bold nations will try to test their borders. For the first time since the Kyūbi attack, the village was vulnerable.

Measures would be taken to prevent their enemies from swooping down upon them, some he wouldn't like but would be forced to do to keep their entire village from collapsing now that Konoha's rule was now solely in his hands. First, he would need to tell the villagers of what happened and the change of government. Many would protest, but he would not stand for it.

Unlike with the Kyūbi incident, he would not allow for them to just do as they wished.

He was the Hokage, the leader of the village and they will accept his rule or would they would face the consequences.

It was time that everyone realized that this was a **_MILITARY_** village, a **_SHINOBI_** village.

And while he couldn't curb the hatred that would undoubtedly spring up towards the remaining members of the Uchiha – just as he couldn't do the same for his surrogate grandson, they would all realize that the time for games were over.

Konohagakure would never be the same, and it broke his heart to realize that it was for the best that it wouldn't. Steeling himself for the task ahead, he flared his chakra and two ANBU dropped down from the ceiling. His dark eyes landed on the two bowing figures, the weasel-masked ANBU in particular. "Get everyone into the space in front of the tower…it is time that I address the village and tell them of the many changes that are to take place tonight."

Both bowed and moved to leave, when he Hiruzen spoke up.

"Weasel, stay behind." The addressed ANBU member stilled for a split second before kneeling in front of him, while the other ANBU shushined from the room to fulfill the task given to them.

Coming to stop in front of 'Weasel', he clenched his fists and frowned.

"I cannot apologize enough for what my advisors and _Danzō_ have done to cause all this, and I cannot guarantee that the future will be easy on you and your clan…but know that if you should need aid that you are always welcome to come and speak to me, Itachi-kun." He placed one of his wrinkled hands on the tense shoulder of one of his most trusted ANBU, and it was only due to this that he could feel the slightest tremble that said more about his emotional state than anything.

Releasing him, he turned his back towards the boy as he heard get up from his place on the floor and shunshin away. Closing his eyes, a single tear slid down his cheek to fall on to the hat clenched in his hands.

"Hashirama-sama, Tobirama-sensei, Minato-kun, this…this is the only thing I can do to regain the honor our village has lost...forgive me what I must do."

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><p><strong>So this was a story born from my dislike of how the canon of Naruto has gone. Don't get me wrong, it's a great series with even greater messages (most of the time), but I guess it just didn't live up to how I felt it should've gone. And I'll tell you, if I had a say in how Naruto went, a lot of things that happened, wouldn't have happened. But since I didn't and won't ever have a say in it, I can just satisfy myself by writing fanfiction. Starting with this! "Road to Exile" is Naruto my way, or how I felt it could've gone if things happened a <strong>_**bit**_** differently.**

**Well that and I was a bit tired of the "cliche" of the Civilian Council always used in Naruto, despite it not actually existing in canon. So, I decided to make a jab at that with this. **

**I can't promise that this will be spectacular as I'm a new writer and all, but I'll try my best. Next chapter, we will be looking at the Academy situation and the changes this tried and failed coup d'état, and disbandment of all council and advisors has wrought on Konohagakure. The chapter will be quite long, so it'll be a while for me to finish and then post it. Unless you guys want me to write small to medium-sized chapters with a guarantee for quicker and more frequent updates? **

**It's up to you guys, though know that even with the second option, I'll be gradually making the chapters longer as I go along. **

**Hopefully you all will like this! If not, then "meh". **


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